After God called to bring Anthony a bible, I spent most of the night in prayer, asking Jesus for grace. I desperately needed His grace to trust Him and follow Him where He was leading me. I prayed for Him to grow my faith and to allow me to see as I ought.

What is Jesus really asking us to do?

I thought to myself, What is Jesus really asking me to do anyway? Then came the answer: He was simply asking me to give what I had already received.

It was then I began to see that, prior to coming to faith in Jesus, I was an enemy of God. Yet, while I was still far from God, He loved me, He pursued me, and He died for me––even in my rebellion.

I saw that Jesus’ death brought me life. Hebrews 9:22 says, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” You see, Jesus needed to die, so we could be forgiven. The penalty of sin is death. And it was Jesus who paid the cost. It was His love for us that led Him to that cross!

I realized at that point that it is only because of Jesus’ death that forgiveness is possible. I have been forgiven, just as each and every follower of Christ has been. First Corinthians 7:23 says, “you were bought with a price.” The cost of my forgiveness was high. And I thought to myself, Who am I to withhold forgiveness and love from my enemy when forgiveness has been so graciously given to me? [Tweet that] I think C.S. Lewis said it well when he said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” [Tweet that]

Jesus Forgave Us

I look at Jesus––dying on the cross––hands and feet pierced only moments before, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). And I continue to be amazed by Jesus’ ability to forgive those who were in the process of murdering Him. [Tweet that]

It is this example that should motivate each of us to forgive. For apart from Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, none would be saved. But because He chose to lay down His life, taking on the sins of the world, we have the power within us to forgive as He does.

{We forgive because we have been forgiven!}

How has the realization that you were “bought with a price” impacted your life and how you live?

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